Trouble in Paradise
by rather-ride-than-park-jimin
Summary: Continuation of Who You Are—The road is smooth for Kara and Mike until James' secret as Guardian and Mike's loyalty interferes with their friendship. Kara/Mon-El


_Continuation of Who You Are._

 **Will fix any errors later.**

Mike scrolled through his laptop, viewing the images James took of him while he was out saving people. He smirked at how he looked, noticing that he looked way better in his suit than he did as Mike Matthews.

As he continued to do so, there was a knock on his glass door, and there Kara was with her bright smile. The lenses on her glasses shined, but he still saw her blue eyes.

"Mike." Kara chuckled. Mike noticed that all he did was stare at her, and he blushed in embarrassment.

He shook his head, zoning out from his thoughts. "Sorry, you can come in."

"Thanks." She continued to smile. She came in, closing the door behind her.

Mike shut his laptop and walked in front of his desk, sitting on it. Kara watched him do that while she stood in front of him.

"So," He folded his arms, "is there anything I can do for you, Danvers?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I wanted to know if you were busy tonight."

Mike paused. He wasn't sure what she was asking. Well, he did know, but he didn't. From all the films and tv shows he's seen so far since he's been on Earth, when people would ask if someone was busy, it would usually lead to—whatever event it was—a date.

He shook his head. "Uh, no. I mean, technically, yes, because I'm a superhero, and I can't exactly take breaks-"

Kara grinned, finding it funny on how he blabbed. "Mike, slow down. It's okay if you're busy. I get it, being Valor is a 24/7 thing."

No, that's not what he wanted. He didn't even know why he was blabbing. "No, no, no. I would love to-" _Wait_ , he thought. "-what exactly are we doing?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come watch a movie with Winn and I. And another friend of ours, you wouldn't know him." She told him.

He frowned, but quickly changed it to a smile. He didn't know why he was disappointed. He liked Kara, he liked hanging out with her, and he definitely liked just being around her.

"Sure," he nodded. "I guess. I mean, why not. I'll just-uh…yeah."

* * *

"Do you think he's coming?" Kara asked Winn for the fourth time.

The two stood outside the theater, tickets bought, including Mike's and their extra friend.

"I don't know, Kara." Winn answered with for the fourth time. His eyes were glued to his phone screen. Recently, he got a girlfriend. He had been texting her nonstop the whole day.

She bit her lip nervously. She really liked his company since they've been hanging out. He was silent, awkward, and cute, but mostly mysterious because he mostly kept everything to himself. But when he was Valor, he was basically a different person.

Winn finally stopped texting his girlfriend, Lyra, and looked around for Mike and their friend.

"Oh, there he is!" Winn said excitedly.

Kara's eyes widened. "Mike?"

He snorted. "No, James." He looked at Kara, surprised at how happy she was to think it was Mike. Then he saw her blush in embarrassment, so rubbed her back and looked away.

"Hey, man." Winn handed James his ticket.

"Thanks for the buying my ticket." James said to Winn. He looked at Kara who looked back at him. "Traffic sucks. I'll pay you back though."

"Really?" Winn's brows rose. "Traffic's not that bad-"

"Mike!" Kara shouted once she spotted him. She ran to him and handed him his ticket.

He smiled. He grabbed her arms to stop her from bumping into him like the last time. "You didn't have to buy me a ticket."

She smiled back. "I know. But I wanted to."

She knew why he was late. He was busy with a car chase far from the theater. She just didn't get why James was late.

"James," Kara and Mike walked over to the other two. "This is-"

"My roommate." James said, adjusting leather jacket.

Winn laughed in shock. "What? No way."

Mike nodded and looked at Kara awkwardly. "You never mentioned you were friends with my roommate."

Kara pressed her glasses back to its place. " _You_ never mentioned your roommate was my friend."

James faked a laugh. "Small world. Right, Mike?"

Mike also faked a laugh. "Right."

While the movie ran, Mike left often as Valor, using the "sensitive bladder" excuse so Winn wouldn't get suspicious. James did the same, but used different excuses each time he left. Winn didn't seem to care, but Kara did when it came to James leaving and arriving the theater as much as Mike did.

After the movie, they all went out to a Chinese restaurant.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Kara muffled out with potstickers in her mouth.

Winn shrugged. "It's was good, but the original is so much better. How about you James?"

"I thought it was pretty good." He took a bite of his orange chicken.

Kara grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. "Oh, yeah? That's your opinion on a movie you were barely there to watch?"

Mike choked on his chow mein.

James leaned back on his chair, folding his arms. "Yeah." He answered bluntly. "How about you, Mike? Thoughts on the movie?"

Mike glared at him. "It was okay, I guess."

Kara frowned. She knew why he was being silent about it. But she wanted to know why James continuously left the movie.

"You think it was 'okay'? I mean, you were barely there." James said, then looked at Kara.

Mike dropped his chopsticks. "What are you doing, Jimmy?"

"Nothing, Michael. Or should I say, Mon-"

Winn laughed nervously. "Okay, guys. I sense a bit of tension at this table."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Mike apologized. "Kara?"

She looked at him. He never called her by her first name, it was always her last. "What?"

"Come with me please." He said. Before she could respond, he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of their booth. He took her near the bathrooms.

"What?" Kara said harshly.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "You're interrogating my roommate like he's some kind of criminal. And trust me, I've known him for a few years, and he's no criminal."

She furrowed her brows. "He's not just your roommate, he's also my friend. And I just wanna know why he kept leaving. You, I get. But him-"

"Kara, he has his reasons. It's not like he was doing anything illegal."

"And what if he was?"

"He _isn't_. He's your _friend_." He reminded her. "And you trust him—don't you?"

She sighed. "Listen, I don't know. We became friends because he was friends with my cousin and he worked with him. And ever since we were friends, he did the same thing; he'd either cancel on plans that we all made together— _often_ , might I add—or leave and come back to Winn and I way too much than anyone should unless you're some kind of super…" she trailed off.

 _Crap_ , Mike thought.

* * *

"Everything okay?" Winn asked when Mike and Kara were seated back at their booth.

"Everything's perfect." Kara forced a smile.

Mike saw that she was avoiding his eyes. James noticed to.

"I think we should go." He suggested. "It's getting late, and I have a thing tomorrow."

Kara stood up fast. "I agree. Let's go, Winn."

She moved past Mike, not caring to bump him in any sort of why. She avoided looking at James too, only keeping her eyes on Winn.

Fast and impatiently, Kara and Winn left, taking their unfinished food. Slow and awkwardly, Mike and James finished their food.

"I'm sorry for that, Mike. I shouldn't have tried to say your real name."

Mike sighed. "It's fine."

James gave him a concerned look. "What happened?" James asked. "Did you tell her?"

Mike shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to you. It's _your_ secret."

"Then what's wrong?"

"It's _because_ I didn't tell her that she's mad at me. But hopefully she'll think about it and understand." He said.

James finished his food. "Thank you, Mon-El. You're a good friend."

Letting go of James calling him his 'friend', he simply nodded.

* * *

For a week, Kara had avoided Mike. He tried to speak to her more than once, but she either told him to leave her alone or she would walk to opposite direction.

James saw that Mike was quiet at home. Well, he was always quiet, but this time it was different. When he befriended Kara, he saw that she made him seem a little "brighter". It was subtle.

The same week, James went to Catco to talk to Kara. He was sick of her ignoring Mike because of a secret that wasn't even his.

"Kara, hey." He showed up by desk. She looked up from her tablet.

"James? What are you doing-" she paused. "If you're here to talk to me about Mike, I don't wanna-"

He grabbed a chair and dragged it in front of her desk. "You don't have to talk. Just listen; I talked to Mike. He's upset, but he chooses not to show it. He chooses not to show anything anyway, but lately he's been opening up a bit because he met you."

She looked back down. "James-"

"Nope, no talking. Listen." He stopped her. "You're ignoring him and acting like he doesn't even exist because he wouldn't tell you a secret that isn't even his to tell."

Kara looked at him. "But-"

"You have to talk to him. That secret is mine, not his. And he's kept it, which makes him a good and trustworthy guy. I admire and love that about him, and I think you should to." He finished.

The girl in front of him nodded softly, thinking about what he just told her.

"So you admit you have a secret to keep?" She rose a brow.

"One I'll tell you some other time." He smiled.

"That you're the Guardian?" She whispered, leaning towards his face.

He chuckled. "Goodbye, Kara."

"That wasn't a 'no'."

The day later after thinking about what James said, Kara pushed aside her stubbornness and decided to speak to Mike.

"Knock, knock." She smiled softly in front of his glass door. Mike looked up from James' printed images. "If you can't tell through the glass, it's Kara Danvers."

Mike made a gesture for her to come in as he stayed in his chair.

She came in and stood in front of his desk. "I came here to apologize for Friday. And for…" she looked down guiltily, "you know."

He nodded.

"So, yeah. That's what I'm here for. And I get it if you don't wanna talk to me or anything. I was being stubborn—not exactly one of my best qualities." She said.

As she was about to leave, Mike spoke; "I don't know. I think it's a great quality."

She looked back at him. He adjusted his glasses and smirked at her.

"And I'm sorry, too."

"No," she shook her head. "You shouldn't be. James talked to me and he said-"

He stood up. "James talked to you?"

"That's not the point." She laughed softly, sending a smile to Mike's face. "My point is, I should've understood that the secret you were keeping wasn't yours to tell. It was James', and if he ever tells me or Winn, then that's that."

He grabbed his pictures and put them all into a file.

"Although, I do think James is the Guardian." She added.

He chuckled and sat back down. "You keep theorizing, Danvers."

"I mean," she began pacing, "the Guardian and Valor working together? _And_ their roommates? That's pretty cute. What if-" she kneeled down, leaning herself on his desk, "the Guardian and Valor are dating?"

Mike glared at her. "The Guardian and Valor are _not_ dating."

"I'm kidding, relax." She laughed. "But I mean, at the theater, you both left the movie frequently. And I get this is his secret, but come _on_! You don't have to respond, but I know you know he's the Guardian."

"Kara, can you hand these over to ?" He handed the file of pictures.

"What are those?" She asked.

" requested—well, more like demanded—photos of Valor to James. So he got some pictures of him-"

" _You_." She grinned.

" _Me_ , and now I need you to deliver these to her."

She happily took them. "You got it, Michael."

"Don't call me that." He pointed at the door, then opened up his laptop.

She left his office and made it over to her boss.

"Glad you and Mick finally made up." Cat took the file.

"Yeah, me too-" she froze. "I'm sorry, what?"

"For the past few days, I've noticed the way he looked at you and the way you looked away from him—similar to teenagers nowadays. I figured something was wrong between the two of you." She said bluntly. "And you've left his office smiling, so I presume you've made up like adults."

Kara took off her glasses and wiped one of the lenses. "Yeah. Wow, ."

"That and I also eavesdropped James and your conversation yesterday." She added.

"Seriously?"

"This is my building, Kira, I can do what I want." She poured herself water. "Now leave," she waved her away. "I can't have your presence disrupting the feel of my office."

Kara walked out of her office, happy.

* * *

"Don't you feel uncomfortable with the suit under your clothes—how about the cape, how does that feel?" Kara asked Mike.

He entered through her balcony, properly buttoning his shirt. He laughed. "Yeah, but you get used to it."

Kara patted a spot on the couch beside her. "The movie's starting."

He sat by her and grabbed a handful of popcorn on her lap. "Sometimes I just put the suit in my workbag and change really fast in my office or the bathroom. Or in the phonebooth."

"Hey!" she smacked his hand. "Not too much!"

"Ow," he laughed. "Even I have super-strength and that hurt."

She stuffed popcorn in her mouth. "Good."

"Yeah," he stared at her.

He watched her giggle, happy that he was the one who caused it. "Good."

Throughout the movie, he watched her laugh, smile, and tear up a little. He couldn't stop. And he definitely didn't go over to her place to watch the movie.

"That was a really good movie." Kara smiled. She put the empty popcorn bowl on the coffee table, then sat back down to see Mike staring at her.

"Uh, yeah." Mike looked away immediately.

Kara definitely noticed his staring throughout the whole movie. She just didn't look back at him. He was so close to her, she couldn't just do that.

"So, uh…" Mike stood up. "I better get going."

"So soon?" Kara stood up, too.

Mike looked at his watch. "It's a quarter to twelve."

She looked down. "Oh."

"Yeah," he nodded, then took a step close to her.

While the movie ran, he had been debating if he was going to was kiss her or not in his head. A month after they made up, they became closer. He went over to her place almost every Friday night to watch a movie or just to eat. Sometimes they would have a game night with James and Winn, but Mike prefered to be alone with Kara—Kara wanted the same.

"Mm-hm," she looked up at him.

"So I should get going." He moved even closer.

She did the same. "You should."

The two stared at each other. Kara wanted him to kiss her, but all he did was stare at her. This close to her, Mike was still contemplating on kissing her.

"Yeah," he cupped her face. "I will."

He kissed her gently, sighing with relief that she kissed back as soon as his lips hit hers.

Seconds later, they pulled away. The looked at each other, shy smiles on their faces.

"Are you still leaving?" Kara asked.

"Maybe later."

He kissed her again.


End file.
